The reality of modern sport now is that iconic figures rarely get to end their careers on their terms.
Far too often they are forced to play out their final season or seasons on a different team than the one they made their name with.
No matter which way you spin it, it just doesn’t look right seeing them wear a different logo.
This weekend iconic NFL head coach Bill Belichick will make his first foray into the college game just over 18 months after he was fired by the New England Patriots.
Here are some of the famous late career uniform changes that we have seen over the years.
Bill Belichick to North Carolina
We promise not to make a joke about Belichick dipping into the college pool in his personal and professional life, but that trademark hoodie will be patrolling the sidelines in Chapel Hill this season.
Just about everyone assumed he would be able to find another job in the NFL if not straight away but within 12 months, but with no suitors knocking, Belichick took the offer on the table.
How will that notoriously gruff demeanour work when dealing with a bunch of 18-22 year olds who might not fully understand how good he was at his job 10-20 years ago.
Either way, it does make North Carolina a far more interesting watch this season whether they win or lose.
Tom Brady to Tampa Bay
The guy Belichick pushed out of New England in March of 2020 by refusing to pay him something close to market value went to one of the league’s most downtrodden franchises.
Seeing the greatest quarterback of all time wearing red and pewter was not the most bizarre sight of that season but it was right up there on the strange scale in those first few weeks.
Turns out Brady was still pretty damn good as he guided the Bucs to the playoffs for the first time since 2007, their first postseason win since the 2002 season and a Super Bowl title.
But by Brady’s own admission he will always be a Patriot… unless he’s working as a broadcaster for Fox or acting as the minority owner for the Raiders.
Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers
He made his name in Green Bay succeeding Brett Favre and followed in his predecessor’s footsteps by irritating the Packers hierarchy to the point they shipped him off to the New York Jets.
That Jets tenure was nothing short of a disaster with Rodgers tearing his achilles four plays into his debut with the new team and not looking all that great in season two.
Two years was enough for the Jets to decide they had seen enough from Rodgers and let him go.
He officially signed with the Steelers in June 2025 for what most presume will be his farewell tour.
If he can get to his fifth snap in Week 1 it will be a far more successful
Joe Montana to the Kansas City Chiefs
Brady’s idol growing up was Joe Montana and now, just like the quarterback he looked up to, he is off to a different team.
With injuries mounting and Steve Young waiting in the wings, Montana went to Kansas City, leading them to the AFC Championship in 1993 before retiring after a playoff loss at the end of the 1994 season.
Jerry Rice to the Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos
Montana’s favourite target with the 49ers and the NFL’s best receiver just couldn’t let go once his time with the 49ers came to an end, moving across the Bay Area to the Oakland Raiders.
After his time in California came to an end he was traded to the Seahawks for half a season and spent part of a training camp with the Denver Broncos before finally realising it was time to hang it up.
Emmitt Smith to the Arizona Cardinals
The NFL’s all-time leading rusher piled up most of his yards with the Dallas Cowboys as part of their “triplets” in the 1990s.
His career finished in a different desert though, eventually breaking the record as a member of the Arizona Cardinals and while it was packaged as Emmitt Smith, it wasn’t the same runner we were used to seeing with the star on his helmet.
Peyton Manning to the Denver Broncos
Brady’s chief rival for most of his career, Manning was sent packing by the Indianapolis Colts after missing the 2011 season with a severe neck injury.
Manning would go on to set records in the 2013 season before winning Super Bowl 50 in what would be his final game.
Brett Favre to the New York Jets (& Minnesota Vikings)
Having made his name with the Green Bay Packers, everyone thought Brett Favre’s will he/won’t he saga finally ended in 2007 when he announced his retirement.
A few months later, however, he just couldn’t shake that itch and, with the Packers now committed to Aaron Rodgers, Favre was moved on.
Having spent the 2008 season with the Jets, he returned to the NFC North with the Vikings, somewhat ruining the goodwill he had built up in Green Bay.
His first season with the Vikings actually went pretty well but in 2010 he lost his consecutive starts streak and his final play saw him knocked out on the frozen turf at the University of Minnesota’s stadium.
Michael Jordan to the Washington Wizards
Perhaps the closest we will ever see to the Brady move, the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan, was the Chicago Bulls during his two stints with the team.
But, like Brady, six titles later Jordan just couldn’t let the game go and he came out of his second retirement to play for the Washington Wizards in a stint that, like the ninth season of Scrubs, people would prefer to forget it ever existed.
Dwyane Wade to the Chicago Bulls
Unlike other NBA superstars *cough* LEBRON *cough* Wade stayed loyal to his original team in the Miami Heat for the bulk of his career and didn’t make a move just to further his brand.
Wade did spend a few years with Lebron though when the latter “took his talents to South Beach” before returning to Cleveland only to ditch them again.
After 13 seasons with the Heat Wade signed with his hometown Chicago Bulls for one year, followed by a brief, ill-fated reunion with James in Cleveland.
February 2018 saw Wade afforded a return “home” to Miami where he spent the final season and a half of his career.
Robbie Farah to the South Sydney Rabbitohs
How can you forget that image of Farah on the scoreboard at Leichardt Oval, watching what should have been his Tigers farewell after being dropped by Jason Taylor?
Having moved onto the Rabbitohs for a largely forgettable stint, he thankfully returned to Wests 18 months later making a return for a season and a half before retiring at the end of the 2019 season.
Cooper Cronk to the Sydney Roosters
Part of the Melbourne Storm’s “Big 3”, Cronk broke up the band with a move to Sydney to be with his young family.
It’s fair to say that move paid huge dividends for Cronk, winning back to back Premierships with the Roosters including a memorable performance with a shoulder injury in the 2018 Grand Final.
Steven Gerrard to the LA Galaxy
Seeing Gerrard in anything other than a Liverpool kit is just wrong, no ifs ands or buts about it.
At the end of the 2015 Premier League season, Gerrard hopped on the David Beckham highway and spent the final few months of his career playing for the LA Galaxy.
John Terry to Aston Villa
One of the iconic players to pull on the blue shirt of Chelsea finished his career in claret and blue with Aston Villa in the Championship.
Terry also spent time as an assistant manager with Villa just to make it even more weird.
Frank Lampard to Manchester City
Lampard, along with Terry, made his name at Stamford Bridge, which made things incredibly awkward when he signed with New York City… a club that was still nine months off playing a match.
To kill some time and presumably stay match fit, Lampard was loaned to Manchester City… it just seemed weird.
Especially when City treat him like one of their club legends.
Wayne Gretzky to the St Louis Blues
Hockey’s “great one” will be remembered for his seismic move from Edmonton to Los Angeles and a cameo in the second Mighty Ducks movie but his time with the St Louis Blues
It says a lot that when the St Louis Blues were honouring franchise greats during their Stanley Cup run in 2019, they included Wayne Gretzky who spent all 18 games with the side (less than a quarter of a season).
His career finished with three seasons in New York with the Rangers.
Doug Hawkins to Fitzroy
After 329 games for Footscray, Doug Hawkins decided it was time for one last go around… unfortunately for him, the only club that would take him was Fitzroy.
Hawkins made 21 appearances for the Lions before hanging the boots up at the end of the 1995 season.